Georgia Citizens for Integrity in Science Education

By Maria Glod
Washington Post
Published on: 12/05/07 Washington —- American teenagers have less mastery of science and mathematics than peers in many industrialized nations, according to scores on a major international exam released Tuesday.

Education experts say results of the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment highlight the need for changes in classrooms and in the federal No Child Left Behind law. The average science score of U.S. 15-year-olds lagged that of students in 16 of 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a Paris-based group that represents the world’s richest countries. U.S. students were further behind in math, trailing counterparts in 23 countries.

“How are our children going to be able to compete with the children of the world? The answer is not well,” said former Colorado governor Roy Romer, chairman of Strong American Schools, a nonpartisan group seeking to make education prominent in the 2008 presidential election.

The PISA test, given every three years, measures the ability of 15-year-olds to answer math and science problems. About 400,000 students, including 5,600 in the United States, took the 2006 exam. There is also a reading portion, but the results for U.S. students were thrown out because the tests were printed incorrectly.

Students in Finland earned top scores in science and math. Mexico was at the bottom of the pack.

The PISA results underscore concern in some quarters that too few U.S. students are prepared to become engineers, scientists and physicians and that the nation may lose ground to economic competitors. An expert panel appointed last year by President Bush is preparing to recommend ways to improve public school math instruction, with a focus on algebra.

PISA, first administered in 2000, covers reading, math and science, but each time the test is given it focuses in depth on one subject. Last year’s exam spotlighted science, covering concepts in physics, chemistry, biology, and earth and space science.

On the science portion, U.S. students, most of them 10th-graders, earned an average score of 489 on a 1,000-point scale, 11 points below the average of the 30 countries. Canada, Japan and Korea were among the countries in which students outperformed American counterparts. U.S. students were on par with eight countries and outperformed five.

In math, only four countries had average scores lower than the United States. Students in 23 countries earned a higher average score, and those in two countries did about the same as the Americans.

The ranking of U.S. students in math and science is about the same as it was in 2003.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings called the results disappointing but noted that the National Math Panel and other initiatives are in motion to improve math and science education. The ranking “speaks to what President Bush has long been advocating for: more rigor in our nation’s high schools; additional resources for advanced courses to prepare students for college-level studies; and stronger math and science education,” she said in a statement.

HERE’S THE COMPETITION

Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) has analyzed skills of 15-year-olds in 43 countries. Here’s a snapshot of the Top 10.

MATH

1. China

2. South Korea

3. Hong Kong

4. Switzerland

5. Belgium

6. Finland

7. Czech Republic

8. Liechentenstein

9. New Zealand

10. Netherlands

24. United States

SCIENCE

1. New Zealand

2. Finland

3. U.K.

4. Australia

5. Japan

6. Canada

7. Liechentenstein

8. Slovenia

9. Hong Kong

10. Ger., Czech.

14. United States

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